The misfortune of others (Karl Starfelt not being 100% ready, Stephen Welsh suffering a virus after an excellent season’s opener) gifted Moritz Jens a debut start against Ross County. The (effective) winning goal was quite the entrance. Memories are made of moments but performance analysis is made up of hundred of wee Excel cells! So, … [continue reading]
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The Impact of Honest Mistakes
Over the season a Sheffield Wednesday supporting referee from South Yorkshire with no skin in the Scottish football game, has been providing expert assessment of big calls in Scottish Premier League matches. This exercise has focussed on matches involving the top two in the SPFL – Celtic and The Rangers. With a Champions League bounty … [continue reading]
Fridge Shaped Hole
Hope remains that Carter-Vickers will sign up for the long haul at Celtic. But we have been here before with Forster, Roberts and even Guidetti. “Never fall in love with a loan signing”. It’s on the wall above the laptop. The Fridge On transfer window day in the Summer, a fridge of a man, Carter-Vickers … [continue reading]
Economy of Outcome
The extent to which style of play versus player attributes influence the data each player generates is a theme I will return to many times over the Age of Ange. Nowhere is this starker than in the striking position. Celtic have been blessed with the abilities of Dembele and Edouard over recent seasons. Griffiths scored … [continue reading]
A Busy Summer Beckons
Building on yesterdays article on appearances during the season, let’s take a look at the implications of where we are. Last Season As mentioned yesterday, 19 players were the core contributors in a double winning season that, with European football progression, stretched to 60 games. The Ask No qualifiers will be a blessing in that … [continue reading]
Can We Fix It? Blimin’ Right , Mate
Step forward ma brickie! Juranovic became the latest victim of the current craze for hamstring strains in the Cup Semi Final at Hampden. (Is anyone monitoring these things?). It is doubtful he will be available for any of the remaining league matches. The pretendy award (concept borrowed from another club – credit where it is … [continue reading]
Why Celtic Should Win The Title
A regular reference point for performance discussion on The Huddle Breakdown (subscribe and never miss an episode) is xG difference. That is: the difference between Expected Goals For and Expected Goals Against. The higher the difference in your favour, the more likely your performance will be sufficient to win the game. Football is low scoring … [continue reading]
Japanese Jockey Burns Bright
Celtic got back to winning ways as Postecoglou narrowly avoided the pre-Christmas sack race (according to some!) by triumphing in his first final with the Hoops . A 2-1 win over Hibernian was the definition of hard fought in the end, as Celtic relied upon the Japanese striker Furuhashi to provide two exquisite finishes. Possession … [continue reading]
Honest Mistakes – SPFL Week 16
The media have dictated that officiating remain front and centre on the agenda over the last week in Scottish football. Many remain aghast Celtic got the better of a very tight call against Hearts. Crawford Allan, head of refereeing, was wheeled out and made sure Bobby Madden and team knew that they were probably incorrect … [continue reading]
Resilience Tested by Tannadice Terrors
Up to the end of October Dundee United were perhaps the surprise team in the league, with 21 points from their opening 11 matches. Since then, it’s been 4 losses in 5 games punctuated by a 1-0 victory over the odd assortment that is Aberdeen. Home form is ok with only St Johnstone winning at … [continue reading]